Writing Activities

I'm a fan of adding things to my writing center and word work center through out the course of the year. I get bored with doing the same thing over and over. So, I know my students get tired of the same activities. They get so excited when I add new things that their interested in to the center. The boys and girls love to write stories that they've done with their parents or make up stories. I LOVE reading all of them. So, I'm working on sets that I know would interest my students and that will be good for certain times of the year.

Gone Fishing Set

This checklist I used in First Grade. My kids were struggling with writing in their journals. They were constantly bringing it to be checked before they put their name and date. Seriously guys? This was toward the end of the year. I decided to put out little buckets on each table filled with checklists. They had to glue this on their writing activities..... ALL OF THEM! They had to check their work before bringing it to get stamped. This really helped my kids who forgot to do some of these things. It held them accountable no matter what we were doing. I felt like I was wasting so much time correcting papers that they could correct themselves. So, I added a more advanced one for 2nd and 3rd. I am moving to 2nd and I plan to start with the short one and move up to the more advanced checklist. I hope they will be using all of these by the end of the year. :)

Fire Fighter Set

This set I use the month of fire prevention. The kids get to participate in the smoke house and get a visit from the local fire department. They get excited and want to do these activities every day. I love seeing them get excited and working hard on their stories.

Organizing mess!

I have taken over my dining room since my office/guest room is now a storage room. I am anxious to get in my new classroom, even if it's to get my room back. I hate having all of this clutter surrounding the main area of the house. Anyways, I was enjoying my melted skinny chocolate (THM) and realized that this is a "teacher" problem. How many of you end up with a mess all over your house during the summer? I know I am not the only one out there. I decided that tonight I was going to tackle the files that I had to take out of my file cabinets when I moved out of the old classroom. Urrrrrrrrrrr...... Why do I have a filing cabinet? I didn't use any of the files in it. I only use it to store student portfolios. I never have time to organize it. So, I am going to try using binders to organize files into units. I have no idea if this will help me access my files. I think organizing is definitely my weakness. As I type this, I am realizing that you can't fully grasp the mess without a picture. I'm a visual learner and I'm going to have to take a picture. Yep, this is why I spend half of my summer trying to get organized for the next school year.  Alright, enough whining for tonight. Stay sassy my friends!

~ Mollie

The Sassy Sisters are making a BIG move!

I wanted to share our BIG move with our blogger friends before the school year is here. We both are moving about 15 miles down the road to a new school district. The great thing about our move is that we will still be teaching together in the same grade level. However, we are moving up to 2nd grade. We are both nervous and excited for this BIG change. The great thing about the move is that this will help us create a wider range of differentiated work from K-2nd grade. We will be revealing our new classrooms (we wont be able to get in them until the beginning of August....eeek) as soon as we are all set up. It is a bit scary not having much time to get set up. You know we can't be simple! You know we can't have any wasted space! You know that we will be bringing the SASSY back!!!! Stay tuned for more from us! We will be adding more things to our TPT store. Our newest product you can check out here https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Neon-Complete-Classroom-Decor-Set-1930913/ I finally finished the complete NEON decor set. This will make any room pop with color! We will be posting our new Super Improver Team board that we will be implementing with Whole Brain Teaching this year. You will not want to miss it. If you haven't checked out WBT, you must do it now. Look them up at www.wholebrainteaching.com. ~Mollie

Peek at the binder covers that I made to make my organizing madness cute and sassy. I will have more to add but I have to see the rest of my curriculum to see how many I will actually need. I plan to have all of my centers organized by the week. We shall see but I will keep you updated.

Easter Fun with Math Facts/ Sight Word Hunt and Peep Adventure Stories

I love to take seasonal things and create an activity for my kids! They love anything that involves seasonal things because their so passionate about the things they do with their families. My co-teacher and I stuffed around 100 eggs with math facts and sight words. They had a t-chart with 10 blanks to fill in. The first 3 groups to complete all of these correctly had a trip to the treasure chest. It was a BLAST! They were so excited and what a great way to end the day before Good Friday!

The Things Teachers Do

The Things Teachers Do

In the life of a teacher…………

-      Wake up 2 hours early to finish preparing a “special” lesson. (Stuffing Easter eggs with sight words or math facts)

-      Wake up 1 hour early to make that last minute run to the store because you forgot their Fun Friday treat. (Popcorn, pickles, and popsicles)

-      Attend Yard Sales in the spring to see if you can find good deals on something you can use for your classroom. (Especially cool furniture that you can paint to make cute)

-      Budget your personal pocket book to see how many exercise balls you can afford for your kids or that NOW board you’ve been researching for months.

-      Spend your day off at the school organizing and setting up new activities to ensure each day runs smooth.

-      Register and pay to go to AWESOME professional development that you know will benefit you and your students next year. Did I mention in the summer when we are “technically” off?

-      Spend weeks of your summer vacation preparing for next year because you truly believe it will be the best year to come.

Teachers all around the world do these things every year until their body breaks down and they retire. Yes, our job is demanding emotionally and physically. Many people believe that we sit at our desks all day and play on our computer. However, we struggle to find the time to sit in our chair for 5 minutes (usually involves a student sitting with you because their having a bad day or need that 5 minutes of one on one with you). These children run your life the entire school year. You pray for them, cry for them, and think of them non-stop. This is what we do! We are TEACHERS! We give our all every day to ensure that each child is prepared for their future. We try to set them a strong base for them to make their dreams come true. We are their cheer leaders, nurses, coaches, and their school mom. The question people ask me everywhere I go……. WHY????

          I LOVE my job! These children I love as if they’re my own. They need me to fight their battles that their parents don’t see every day. They need me to say everything is ok. They need me to say you’re beautiful in every way. They need me to say that I love them. They need me to say that I believe in them. They need me to hug them when they fall down. They need me to be silly on a daily basis to take their stress away. They need me to say. “NO”. They need me to teach them how to read. They need me to teach them how to write. They need me to teach them that hard work pays off. They need me to teach them how to deal with others appropriately. They need me!   

          I have two beautiful children and I’ve been blessed with great teachers through the years. I am so thankful for them because they are there to fight these battles with them while I work. I can concentrate on my students because I know that my children have a teacher fighting for them. This is why we do what we do! We are not super heroes! We are normal people that have normal lives. We have a huge heart that is full with love for every student in our school. These are our school babies.